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Food writer Polly Campbell returns to dining in with lunch in Blue Ash

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Customers dine in for the first time since the state-wide shut down of restaurants at Taft's Ale House in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati on Thursday, May 21, 2020. Sam Greene/The Enquirer

Staff member Sam Perna cleans and sanitizes surfaces on the first day of in-door dining since the statewide ban was lifted at Taft's Ale House in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati on Thursday, May 21, 2020. Sam Greene/The Enquirer

Staff member Sam Perna cleans and sanitizes surfaces on the first day of in-door dining since the statewide ban was lifted at Taft's Ale House in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati on Thursday, May 21, 2020. Sam Greene/The Enquirer

Staff member Sam Perna pours a beer into a disposable cup at Taft's Ale House in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati on Thursday, May 21, 2020. With new sanitization guidelines in place, Taft's has temporarily moved to disposable drink and dining dishes. Sam Greene/The Enquirer

Staff member Sam Perna pours a beer into a disposable cup at Taft's Ale House in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati on Thursday, May 21, 2020. With new sanitization guidelines in place, Taft's has temporarily moved to disposable drink and dining dishes. Sam Greene/The Enquirer

Disposable flatware is rolled at Taft's Ale House in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati on Thursday, May 21, 2020. With new sanitization guidelines in place, Taft's has temporarily moved to disposable drink and dining dishes. Sam Greene/The Enquirer

Brightly colored tape marks precise locations for tables and chairs on the floor at Taft's Ale House in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati on Thursday, May 21, 2020. Taft's plans to enforce strict social distancing guidelines inside its dining rooms. Sam Greene/The Enquirer

A chicken wing appetizer is served in disposable containers at Taft's Ale House in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati on Thursday, May 21, 2020. With new sanitization guidelines in place, Taft's has temporarily moved to disposable drink and dining dishes. Sam Greene/The Enquirer

Patrons enjoy lunch, Thursday, May 21, 2020, at Brown Dog Cafe in Blue Ash, Ohio. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine ordered restaurants and bars to stop indoor services by the night of March 15 to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, and on Thursday, restaurants were able to open indoor dining rooms, contingent on following strict social distancing and sanitation measures. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer

Retired Army Col. Dan Shey, of Madeira, enjoys lunch, Thursday, May 21, 2020, at Brown Dog Cafe in Blue Ash, Ohio. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine ordered restaurants and bars to stop indoor services by the night of March 15 to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, and on Thursday, restaurants were able to open indoor dining rooms, contingent on following strict social distancing and sanitation measures. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer

Mike Galati, of Anderson Township, left, enjoys lunch with John Daley, of Columbus, right, Thursday, May 21, 2020, at Brown Dog Cafe in Blue Ash, Ohio. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine ordered restaurants and bars to stop indoor services by the night of March 15 to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, and on Thursday, restaurants were able to open indoor dining rooms, contingent on following strict social distancing and sanitation measures. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer

Vincent Brown, left, prepares lunch as server Sam Wyrick, right, helps, Thursday, May 21, 2020, at Brown Dog Cafe in Blue Ash, Ohio. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine ordered restaurants and bars to stop indoor services by the night of March 15 to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, and on Thursday, restaurants were able to open indoor dining rooms, contingent on following strict social distancing and sanitation measures. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer

Bartender Lisa Slivka fixes cocktails while patrons enjoy lunch, Thursday, May 21, 2020, at Brown Dog Cafe in Blue Ash, Ohio. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine ordered restaurants and bars to stop indoor services by the night of March 15 to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, and on Thursday, restaurants were able to open indoor dining rooms, contingent on following strict social distancing and sanitation measures. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer

Sam Wyrick, foreground, and chef Shawn McCoy, background, serve lunch on the patio, Thursday, May 21, 2020, at Brown Dog Cafe in Blue Ash, Ohio. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine ordered restaurants and bars to stop indoor services by the night of March 15 to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, and on Thursday, restaurants were able to open indoor dining rooms, contingent on following strict social distancing and sanitation measures. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer

Chef Shawn McCoy serves lunch on the patio while patrons enjoy lunch, Thursday, May 21, 2020, at Brown Dog Cafe in Blue Ash, Ohio. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine ordered restaurants and bars to stop indoor services by the night of March 15 to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, and on Thursday, restaurants were able to open indoor dining rooms, contingent on following strict social distancing and sanitation measures. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer

John Daley, of Columbus, enjoys lunch, Thursday, May 21, 2020, at Brown Dog Cafe in Blue Ash, Ohio. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine ordered restaurants and bars to stop indoor services by the night of March 15 to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, and on Thursday, restaurants were able to open indoor dining rooms, contingent on following strict social distancing and sanitation measures. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer

Host Julie Weber waits for customers to seat for lunch, Thursday, May 21, 2020, at Brown Dog Cafe in Blue Ash, Ohio. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine ordered restaurants and bars to stop indoor services by the night of March 15 to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, and on Thursday, restaurants were able to open indoor dining rooms, contingent on following strict social distancing and sanitation measures. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer

Chef Shawn McCoy helps serving lunch dishes, Thursday, May 21, 2020, at Brown Dog Cafe in Blue Ash, Ohio. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine ordered restaurants and bars to stop indoor services by the night of March 15 to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, and on Thursday, restaurants were able to open indoor dining rooms, contingent on following strict social distancing and sanitation measures. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer

Vincent Brown seasons French fries, Thursday, May 21, 2020, at Brown Dog Cafe in Blue Ash, Ohio. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine ordered restaurants and bars to stop indoor services by the night of March 15 to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, and on Thursday, restaurants were able to open indoor dining rooms, contingent on following strict social distancing and sanitation measures. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer

Sugar and Spice on Reading Road opens up to sit-down service after 61 days of restaurant closure due to COVID-19. Some guidelines and rules are still in place to protect employees and customers from further infection. Phil Didion

Sugar and Spice on Reading Road opens up to sit-down service after 61 days of restaurant closure due to COVID-19. Signs are put up in the windows, giving guidelines for customers and employees to stay safe during service. Phil Didion

Sugar and Spice on Reading Road opens up to sit-down service after 61 days of restaurant closure due to COVID-19. Carry-out is still an option for those who wish to continue socially distancing. Phil Didion

There was a man on a folding chair with a laptop under the canopy at Summit Park in Blue Ash at lunchtime on Thursday, doing business on his cell phone. I wondered if he just couldn’t stand being at home for one more day.

We all know how that feels. But now restaurant dining rooms are open, or at least some are, and if you feel safe doing it, you can get out of the house for a meal. I was at Summit Park to go to the Brown Dog Café for lunch.

The routine on entering a restaurant is so familiar to me: up to the hostess desk, the number in your party, being led to a table, handed menus. It’s what I do for a living, and a mere two months and a week wasn’t long enough to make it feel brand-new. It was the same as ever, except for the sort of low-level stress I’ve had doing anything at all in public. Frankly, I wasn’t sure I was ready for this.

But there was no trouble with social distancing. I was the first person there. And The Brown Dog is a particularly good place to go right now. The dining room could have been specifically designed for COVID-19 restrictions. There is a whole line of padded booths with very high backs. I was shown to one sized for two people, and I was surrounded on three sides by solid walls. I wouldn’t even know if anyone else was there. They also have a spacious patio, some of which is under a roof.

Sam Wyrick, foreground, and chef Shawn McCoy, background, serve lunch on the patio, Thursday, May 21, 2020, at Brown Dog Cafe in Blue Ash, Ohio. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine ordered restaurants and bars to stop indoor services by the night of March 15 to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, and on Thursday, restaurants were able to open indoor dining rooms, contingent on following strict social distancing and sanitation measures.(Photo: Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer)

I ordered a chicken wrap and a cappuccino. It was a day for a hot drink, wet and gloomy outside. The servers, all masked, were all super-eager to wait on me. I could tell for them it had been a long nine weeks. “Aren’t you just happy to get out?” said my server. She was respectful of distance, standing feet away from me. Though I know how hard those behavioral things are to remember: it goes against all habit and pattern.

More people came in as I ate. Most of them headed for the covered area of the patio. I was glad to see they mostly all wore masks. I’m very confident in restaurants’ ability to create a safe environment. The wild card is the other customers. I had been out to eat on a patio at a different restaurant last week, and while the restaurant was doing everything right – distance between chairs, paper or scannable menus, lots of wiping down – there were some customers a little too happy to get out. One, apparently a regular, was talking to everyone, and when he left, he went up to the guys at another table he’d been carrying on a conversation with and gave them all a fist bump. Let’s please at least agree that we not break the 6-foot shield around other people without asking first, OK?

When I was finished with my sandwich, I went to wash my hands. I realized another facet of the design here, and at many other restaurants, that’s conducive to current conditions: the one-person restroom. No chance of someone invading your space at the sink.

I said hello to Shawn McCoy, Brown Dog’s owner, and got a look at the mask he’s using: full-on Darth Vader in a black chef’s hat. He was feeling pretty good: if the weather improves, his patio is very popular, and he hasn’t had to lose a lot of seats.

Outside, I ran into Scott Schmidt, the owner of Looking Glass Hospitality, which owns Tahona Tacos. He was doing COVID-19 training for back-of-the-house employees that morning. Front-of-the-house would come in for it in the evening. He didn’t want more than 10 in a group at a time. He can only hope that dine-in is above and beyond what they’ve been doing for carryout, instead of replacing the carryout business. Who knows? It really is an uncertain near future. But restaurant people, I have found, have an optimism that is equal to their challenges.

The guy in the folding chair was still doing business outside. I hope he had a chance to get some lunch.